iPads In The Classroom: Worth Doing Right

Tablets in K-12 and higher education should not be technology for technology's sake.

Educational 'Technology' Across the Ages

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Simply purchasing slick devices like iPads for the classroom is hardly a recipe for educational success.

The temptation to do so is a symptom of an exciting, and perhaps confusing, time in educational technology. Never have students at all grades been more tech savvy, and never have educators had such an astounding range of technical resources available to them for pedagogical use. Let's talk about why iPad programs don't always succeed.

I serve as a wireless network architect and administrator, as well as a part-time faculty member at a private university, and I am parent of three kids who are growing up immersed in technology. I also spent a number of years as an advisor on a technical committee of a local K-12 district, wrestling with how to leverage various technologies that all seemed fascinating, but not easily stitched into the general fabric of the school day. I certainly don't have all of the answers on the topic of iPad initiatives, but I do have broad perspective.

Also, a bit on iPads themselves is in order. Other tablet devices have made their way into plenty of classrooms, but the iPad has the educational market locked up as measured in volume sold. At the same time, most of my thoughts about iPads apply to all tablets regardless of make, and the challenges facing those who aspire to build educational programs on mobile devices.

Loosely defined, an iPad program puts the devices in the hands of students and faculty, and is intended to bring about the realization of some set of education goals. I break down the challenges with iPad programs into four general areas: the purpose of the program, the students, the teachers (and the K-12 districts/colleges they work for), and the technology itself. Here's where each can make trouble for an iPad program.

1. What's the purpose of the iPad program?

I've sat in meetings where administrators were bound and determined to put PCs into classrooms, but couldn't say how the machines would be used if their jobs depended on it. The same "technology for the sake of technology" mentality is a real risk with iPads. Any initiative needs a charter and specific goals, but too often technology is brought to a classroom because other schools are doing the same, or because a funding grant was too good to pass up. If you think you can simply get a bunch of devices and figure out how they will be used later, you've likely doomed yourself to failure. That's not to say you can't expand a program beyond the initial goals, but those initial goals must be defined and measurable.

2. Students

The contemporary student has a lot competing for her attention. Even without a device in hand, students wrestle with the same worries and social issues we all did at the various grade levels. Now add iPads, and consider:

-- Students are often more adept in using devices than faculty are. I have seen this play out a number of times, from attempts to use GPS units in geocaching activities in physical education to my daughter's own Photoshop class. If the students have to teach the Instructor how to use the device or apps on it, chances for program success are pretty slim.

-- Students can have fleeting attention spans, and are easily distracted. The best teacher in the world is no match for the siren song of the Internet when a device in hand can take you to the Web during a lesson that isn't hooking you. (This is not so different from adult professionals reading email and news in boring meetings at work.)

-- If it's not a 1:1 program, students are less likely to embrace the initiative. iPads are not like networked computers, in that they don't really come with "multi-user" options. Students do best if they can feel like the device is theirs to "customize" and can expect a certain level of privacy with the device for a semester or school year, as opposed to being just an object they put back on the cart for the next person at the end of the class period.

This article was really very informative and thought-provoking. I was surprised, however, to see no mention of the need to secure the iPads from theft and to charge & sync them routinely. Charging & syncing is an ordeal within itself, but with a sync & charge cart the process becomes so much easier. We have been using Datamation Systems sync & charge cart and it has made iPad management so much easier. If anybody is interested we purchased them through www.ipadcarts.com.

Good classroom managers won't have that problem. If a teacher has control over their classroom, they have nothing to worry about.

I began teaching in a 1:1 PC environment in 1996. There were no filters on the network. Over the past 18 years, the only teachers who needed help controlling where their students were going on the internet, were time and time again, the poor classroom managers. The pattern is the same every year. Poor classroom managers are illuminated in any one to one setting. These are same teachers who complain and demand help controlling devices in the classroom. A few short years ago the porn magazine was in the backpack. Students knew which teachers wouldn't notice if the magazine came out, and more importantly, which teachers would notice.

iPads will save the school lots of money by replacing textbooks. GPS tracking will help to find the stolen and lost iPads. More students will remember to bring their "books" to school and read them from cover to cover. Many studies have shown that giving the students more literary experiences will offset the disadvantages of poverty. Steve Jobs once said that computers are like bicycles for our minds. LAUSD students will be able to ride into the 21st Century, but to where?

My first question is how are teachers supposed to control the iPads in the classroom? Proxy websites that get around the district filters are now an industry. How will LAUSD deal with all the students looking up porn on the Internet?

I'm not a big fan of tablets in schools, at least for K through 8th grade. Our kids are already spending too much time in front of screens. They don't need more of it, even if it is "educational." What really concerns me is Lee's point that some schools want to get the tablets in the kids' hands because it makes the school seem up to date, but they don't actually have a plan for integrating tablets sensibly into the curriculum.

In case the nuance was lost- I'm not saying "don't do tablets or technology" in the classroom. I'm saying not to rush in without a plan that you can build on and without considering all aspects of the program. There are lots of initiatives that are resounding successes, but they didn't come about just because someone bought iPads and passed them out.

So are you saying it's fine to pick the gadget that looks like a good choice today, without worrying too much about tomorrow? Argument being: today's choice will be obsolete tomorrow anyway. That's what I took from the first part of your note: the idea that planning for long-term maintenance was probably fruitless when tech is changing so fast.

Technology in the classroom is usually viewed as an "investment" of sorts in that it's not just how can it be used today, but how it will work for us two or three years down the road - when it's still being paid for. I don't know of a single user of ANY piece of technology that buys a device thinking that it will still be relevant several years down the road. Also, if iPad (or any comparable device) is the flavor of the day, will it still be in favor at the end of it's desired lifecycle? (These sorts of long-term maintenance plans can cost more than the initial device itself.)

I believe the best chance of success for a program of this nature comes when we don't also try to solve the problem of "technology in the homes." We've seen too many school districts try to solve both problems in the past...and fail miserable. There are a great number of educational purposes that these devices can address without allowing students to take them home on a daily basis (where it's a given fact that the devices will break down at a much faster rate, adding significantly to the costs.)

I'd be curious to understand the ROI of using a tablet device not merely in addition to hard copy books, but in replacement of! I think there is where you have a better chance of getting this technology more broadly adopted.

Our data shows these innovators using digital technology in two key areas: providing better products and cutting costs. Almost half of them expect to introduce a new IT-led product this year, and 46% are using technology to make business processes more efficient.

Worries about subpar networks tanking unified communications programs could be valid: Thirty-one percent of respondents have rolled capabilities out to less than 10% of users vs. 21% delivering UC to 76% or more. Is low uptake a result of strained infrastructures delivering poor performance?